chadtoland Reviews

Gen V (2023– )

Not great, not horrible

[6/10 · 28 November 2023]

Mostly I found this show boring. Absent The Boys, I doubt I would have watched it. It has big shoes to fill, and sadly lacks the nuance and satire of its predecessor. The first couple episodes seemed promising in parts, but the problems with the show got old, drowning out my desire to watch. The characters were not compelling for me, and some even annoying. It has strong teen drama vibes, but maybe it's targeted toward a college audience. Great shows however, have appeal across age groups, this one does not. It's also excessively gory. I enjoy horror movies, I'm not opposed to gore, but this show uses it as a heavy handed gimmick. The fight scene with the puppets was great, but otherwise I would happily trade the well rendered gibs for a bit more plot. Speaking of plot, it has the common streaming problem of 2-3 episodes of plot stretched into a season.

On the plus side there is some interesting "Boys" world building and character development with a few cameos. Like Book of Boba Fett, maybe it's worth the slog for the back story, not sure.

Cars 3 (2017)

My Daughter loves this movie

[8/10 · 19 November 2023]

The deeply negative reviews of this movie are... interesting. My DAUGHTER loves the end of the movie and constantly asks "where is Cruz?". If you can only watch movies about guys scoring Ws then maybe it's not for you. But personally I enjoy the subversive narrative and the fact my daughter can identify with the hero at the end. Cars 3 is pretty good, the one I enjoy most, and does well at focusing on McQueen while shifting focus to a new hero. It's funny, has more action sequences than the original, and adds depth to McQueen. Ignore the bad reviews, this is a great one to watch with your kids.

Star Trek: The Next Generation: Hide and Q (1987) Season 1, Episode 9

It's not a good episode

[5/10 · 11 October 2023]

Starting with the positive, I think we see Riker bust out the Captain Morgan leg stance for the first time. Nice.

As I was watching this episode the word "sanctimonious" was screaming in my ears. Sure enough, I see a 3 star review with the same in the title. Riker is annoying, Picard is annoying. The premise isn't bad. The execution is painfully high and mighty, and cringy. Worf is gifted a sex beast. Does the courtship ritual feel somehow racist? Geordi, after being gifted sight, announces to everyone the security lady is hot. It's the one thing he has to say about being able to see. Tasha throws herself at the captain because he provides minimal, awkward comfort about potentially being erased from existence. I wonder why she quit. Worst of all, the episode isn't thought provoking, despite focusing on someone being granted god powers. Saving your friends is bad, because something. Saving dead kids is bad, because something. Why? Oh, you might start calling the captain by his first name (heavens no) and pretend to be a genie who doesn't listen to his friends when they say "no gifts."

The Woman in the House (2022)

Stupid, not funny

[5/10 · 20 February 2023]

I get that it's a parody, but it often felt more like parroting. Hot Fuzz comes to mind as a well-executed version of what "Woman in the House" might be aiming for. The tone is all over the place. It doesn't lean into lampooning enough so when it does it feels out of place. Large portions of the show are just a straight ahead B murder mystery. It abruptly takes sharp turns into absurdity in an attempt to be funny and avoid being taken seriously. I often wasn't sure if it was trying to be serious with a peppering of humor and manifestations of the character's mental state (like Flight Attendant). Randomly it goes full Naked Gun, then back to serious again. The ending is simply dumb.

Seinfeld: Male Unbonding (1990) Season 1, Episode 4

Still forming from a rocky start

[6/10 · 17 December 2022]

Season 1 is drifting and dragging by this episode. George and Jerry's characters often seem mixed together, where lines they say sound written by the other. The standup that was sharp in the pilot is lacking here. Seinfeld's poor acting is also frustrating in this episode, where he is meant to be annoyed during lunch with a friend, but keeps cracking up and breaking character. Elaine is absent much of the episode. When she does appear at the end of the episode it's painfully clear that Louis-Dreyfus has done much of the heavy lifting in the prior two episodes. I've seen comparisons of Elaine and Jerry to Danson and Long in Cheers. Sorry, no. Seinfeld season one's charm is largely carried by Elaine with Jerry tagging along as a poor man's Ted Danson. This show does eventually find its stride once George mirrors Larry David and Elaine is decoupled from Jerry. But season 1 has so far been a bumpy start.

Andor (2022– )

Moving the brand forward

[9/10 · 24 November 2022]

Finally, a Star Wars addition which elevates. It's slower, far less action driven, yet more suspenseful as a result. The characters have layers and complex motivations. I especially love the weird master/sub relationship forming with the ISB commander and her weird stalker who lives with his mother. It's full of odd details and threads.

This show also feels true to the core themes and style of the original trilogy. In some ways it's more effective. We feel a strong sense of oppression, ambiguous ethics, dirty hands, and meaningful formation of a rebellion. It's a refreshing change and a more mature Star Wars.

Antlers (2021)

Cliche jumble

[6/10 · 14 February 2022]

Fairly quickly this movies feels like a collection of movie cliches mixed up into a plot. As other reviews have noted it's not scary. There are also lost opportunities. An interesting and disturbing backstory is given for the sister and brother. However it amounts to window dressing by the end of the film.

It was entertaining enough that I finished it. The movie is wise not to hang around too long. But there is nothing new to see here, and other films have done it better.

Search Party: The Imposter (2021) Season 4, Episode 8

Problematic

[6/10 · 17 April 2021]

There is a pattern on this show of proud, token black characters being outed as fools. It was present with Dorie's ex, Drew's juror fling, the judge, and now "Oprah" in this episode. Amidst a foreground of idiotic, crazy white characters, black characters don't have stories, and are clueless pawns, tricked or gotten the better of by the main characters: the most clueless of the clueless.

Episode plot: Chantal, stupid white person writes a stupid book. A smart white publisher is discerning, and "correctly" sees the book as deranged. Later, an Oprah character is shown to be vain, foolish, and clueless. She mistakenly declares Chantal's book a masterpiece and becomes a punchline. The episode ends with Chantal getting the better of "Oprah" on live(?) TV.

Star Trek: Voyager: Mortal Coil (1997) Season 4, Episode 12

A long, boring Neelix episode

[6/10 · 15 February 2021]

I was ready to rate this a 9 at the beginning when it seemed Neelix had died. But moments later he was brought back from the dead, lame. We are forced to sit through a Neelix crisis of faith story. Skip this one.

Star Trek: Voyager: The Gift (1997) Season 4, Episode 2

Regressive

[5/10 · 4 February 2021]

The producers' motivations are quite clear in this episode. Ratings were down, the bikini resort on the holodeck wasn't cutting it, putting Kes in a tight uniform wasn't working, so they hired a super model to play a naive woman in a skin tight one piece. Sad! It's also simply not a good episode. But, as much as I hate 7 of 9 out of principal, she's honestly a more interesting character than Kes. Treating the actress with more dignity might have helped.

Star Trek: Voyager: Scorpion, Part II (1997) Season 4, Episode 1

Part 2 is better

[7/10 · 30 January 2021]

They already explored sexy Borg in First Contact. I'm sure 7 of 9 is a fan favorite among loners living in their mom's basement, but doesn't warrant rating this episode 9/10. This episode is better that part 1, but a fairly average episode of Voyager.

Star Trek: Voyager: Scorpion (1997) Season 3, Episode 26

Overrated, tired old formula

[6/10 · 30 January 2021]

Wow, how original, a Borg finale. A new alien species is introduced bent on destruction and able to destroy Borg cubes with ease, yet somehow unable to seriously damaged voyager. The aliens are completely uninteresting, fake 90s CG, something out of a B video game. Janeway decides on an alliance with the Borg, and that's the episode.

Star Trek: Voyager: Worst Case Scenario (1997) Season 3, Episode 25

Lame 3rd act

[7/10 · 27 January 2021]

I need to echo other reviews of this episode, being 2/3 great episode. I was really enjoying it until it took a super annoying turn.

Sweet Home (2020– )

Good start but drags on

[6/10 · 23 January 2021]

I watched this on Netflix with subtitles and the original dialogue. I can't comment on dubbing other than don't use it for anything, ever.

It's an interesting take on the zombie/monster genre. But if you get interested by the first few episodes you might later regret feeling the need to stick through and see how it ends. By the last few episodes I was losing interest. Several characters are intolerable. Some likable characters are sidelined. Some events are over the top to the point that it's frustrating. It sometimes goes too far on pointless shock value, and other times not far enough. It's not a terrible show if you're looking for monster/horror/apocalypse/survival, but I found it getting old by the end.

Star Trek: Voyager: Distant Origin (1997) Season 3, Episode 23

Another blundered 3rd act

[8/10 · 20 January 2021]

8/10 is generous. I was amazed at the beginning of this episode. It stood out as a creative, interesting plot, presented in a unique way. But then, in usual Voyager fashion it couldn't help getting preachy and failed to stick the landing. I was tuned out by the end. And again, an obvious scenario that would get Voyager back to Earth, oopse never mind, let's bend the plot backward to avoid that happening. This show cannot get out of its own way. Overall still a good episode, one of the better ones so far, up until the last half.

Star Trek: Voyager: Favorite Son (1997) Season 3, Episode 20

Basically TOS

[6/10 · 19 January 2021]

I agree with other reviews, this is very similar to TOS, and TNG S1E2. It's OK, sort of entertaining, definitely cringe worthy. But fans of Better Call Saul should make sure to watch this one! They'll see a familiar face from HHM.

Star Trek: Voyager: Real Life (1997) Season 3, Episode 22

Lifetime drama rehash

[4/10 · 19 January 2021]

How to describe this episode? What should be a 10 minute sub plot is given central focus, YAWN. The Dr. has a Holodeck family that starts like Leave It To Beaver and ends like a super over-the-top Lifetime family drama. I guess there is a point being made, but it's not worth spending 45 minutes exploring. The episode is filled with one cliche after another. You have seen this plot before, many times. The side-plot in this episode is *another* mysterious spatial anomaly. Tom checks it out in a shuttle, gets lost, gets rescued. Definitely skip this one. It's a stinker, totally pointless, waste of time.

Star Trek: Voyager: Darkling (1997) Season 3, Episode 18

A couple saving graces

[7/10 · 17 January 2021]

This episode is kind of dumb. It starts interesting, with a culture of Wild West space explorers, one of whom Kes falls for. It seems like Kes might leave the show at one point only to have that suddenly no longer be the case without explanation. Neelix is also oddly not part of this episode given his history with Kes. The episode suddenly shifts to a Dr Jekyll plot involving the Doctor which is OK, but drags on and is clunky.

Star Trek: Voyager: Unity (1997) Season 3, Episode 17

New insight into an old villain

[9/10 · 17 January 2021]

I'm surprised this episode isn't rated more highly. It explores new ideas about the Borg and their origin. The viewer gets perspective about how one might be drawn into joining a collective at its early stage, with a noble goal in mind, only to have it morph into something dangerous.

Star Trek: Voyager: Threshold (1996) Season 2, Episode 15

Great Episode

[8/10 · 9 December 2020]

Do all the people hating on this episode think Voyager is a good show? They are watching this series all wrong. Watch it like a B movie. Watch it like a daytime soap opera set in space. This show is not Ray Bradbury, Philip Dick, or Harlan Ellison.

Where this show fails is slapping together the same old plots, getting preachy about star fleet nonsense, or taking itself too seriously. TNG was meaningfully Utopian. Voyager is a tired rehash that's lost in space.

This is an original episode worth watching. It's not perfect, but one of the more entertaining episodes in the first 1.5 seasons. I found myself watching it rather than doing chores with it on in the background. It has a great Cronenberg vibe. True to that style the ending is gross and weird. I would have enjoyed more time seeing the Salamanders living their lives as the next level of human evolution. Would they decide the wear cloths? We'll never know. But sometimes it's best to let the audience imagine.